I am not sure if I know this exactly. My remark was just a general way a game should be designed. I mean there are many games out there which dont trim fat (many wargames too) . Starmada is possibly NOT one of those in its current edition and I would love if it stays this way and not become overly complex and burdend with rules in future editions. In contrary I would even prefer a "going back" into the beer and pretzel direction in future editions, even if this means that I cannot simulate every space opera setting out there with it. Eg. I was very content with the original setting you designed for it. Personally I would not need more and I always use it for my own games with friends.

To me, playing Starmada with none of fancy options (weapon options in particular) at level 0 across the board= Starmada Light. There is still a ton of flexibility and fun to be had!

Just my 2 bits.
Erik

Really, I don't think that Starmada can really trim anything and still remain Starmada. The game doesn't require you to play with every option. I guess I'm with everyone else when I ask, where's the fat? What is too much?

Yes the bare bones of Starmada are without the weapon and defensive options. Nobody is forcing you to use options. You can make ships out of the basic Starmada game. That might be an idea for a game here in FL. Hmmmmmmm

Basic Starmada? Well it seems at least in Florida the gamers a still sane.

Using none or fewer of the options (for me personally and I guess for alot of other people which like more the minimalistic/easygoing side of gaming) is not really a solution. With the same argument I could play Advanced Squad Leader or any other game with an Avalon Hill premium difficulty Level of 10. And with the same argument I can say that I play ASL with just 10 german counters and 10 russians on a plain map. Do you think that I consider such an approach as fun?

Secondly my playing partners and I would have to go through all of the rules to know which of them to dump and which to use. This is time consuming and tedious.

Generally I know that games are usually undergoing a refinement but also a complexification in each new edition. There are many examples. But there is also always a point where the designers realize that their "baby" is getting too complex and noone sane can play it anymore. This is the moment when adding stuff is NOT the same like adding fun. (an example is the transition from overcomplex DnD 3.5 to easier DnD4) And I hope that Starmada Dan will realize this sooner than his designer collegues of WotC. So that we never see a 3.5 edition of Starmada.

Personally ATM Starmada is for me at the border to be unfun because of its increased stuff and complexity. I still play it with some friends sometimes but not as often as in earlier years. I also dont want to discuss which single rules to dump. This is too tedious for me and I dont want to be a starmada armchair rule designer.

Last week I played a Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures game which is similar in some aspects to Starmada (at least you have single ships and fighter squadrons). It was simple, fun and easy to play. We could learn the rules in 20-30 minutes and we used all of them and not just the basic rules. One game lasted 1,5h and we played 3 of them in a row. This I call a good gaming evening. I doubt that I would have enjoyed the evening as much if the game had more complex rules.

It really sounds like you're looking for a different type of game than Starmada, rather than a simpler version of the existing game -- which, as others have pointed out, is exactly what the "essential" Starmada rules provide.

For what it's worth, I've long wondered what would happen if I went back to an earlier (simpler?) version of Starmada (version 2, perhaps) and redeveloped it along the lines of a game like A&A Naval or the tactical combat system in the Avalanche Press games... maybe one day I'll actually do that.

Hmmm, it seems to me that if you go simpler than basic, essential Starmada AE, you are now talking about a different game entirely. If that is the case, there are other games out there that do that sort of thing. Creating a squadron or task-force scale/level of Starmada might be something Cricket could do as long as it retained it's basic Starmadaness (or would that be Starmadaosity?) in gameplay. You could blow up more stuff faster and with less detail, but with the same basic RNG-ROF-ACC-IMP-DMG mechanics (I'm thinking something like the flotilla rules extended out to cover all ships). Beyond that there are strategic level combat systems like VBAM's combat resolution system and such, but they are another creature altogether and IMO not too much fun, just book-keeping.
Cheers,
Erik

Good idea. I would find it perfect if you go back to a simple streamlined and fast version of Starmada. (best would be even simpler than Version 1)  I would be the first who would buy and play such a game. In fact I am sure that this would be the starmada version I would play the most. I could even introduce such rules to casual gamers which is now hardly possible.

Not sure what you mean by simpler than version 1 -- I'm not sure it can get any simpler than that.

Simpler rules:

Move 1d6 hexes/inches
Shoot - < 3 hexes - short, 4-8 hexes - medium, 9-18 hexes - long
roll 1d6 hit on odd or miss on even
If Hit, target explodes.
Rinse and repeat.

With "simpler" I mean even a more streamlined version with fewer but compact rules. I cannot explain it more in detail because I am not a game designer. Possibly I find time the next days to go in detail through the rules and write something about how I mean it.